Operation Birthday
by Predec2
Summary: Someone's feeling neglected on his birthday; but did someone really forget?  B/J Romance
1. It's Lonesome in the Big Apple

_Chelsea Art Gallery – New York City - May 2006_

"Fuck!" Justin muttered as he scowled at his latest work-in-progress. The dramatic feeling he was trying to convey almost looked more like a comedic piece from his standpoint; the strokes which should have been bold and defined looked more like a kindergartner had done them, at least to his critical eye. They were almost whimsical in nature, which was very ironic because at the moment his heart was feeling anything but light and cheerful…

Jack Montgomery, the gallery owner, frowned as he watched his newest and most popular up-and-coming artist throw his paintbrush into the stainless steel utility sink in disgust. "Something wrong, Justin?" he called out from his place at his desk.

"This painting is for shit!" the blond growled critically as he wiped his hand on a paint-spattered rag. He stared at the canvas but his mind wasn't focused on how he could improve upon it. Even his eyes were glazed over, unblinking, as his thoughts strayed to a different subject. For at that moment, Justin Taylor, popular budding artist extraordinaire, was engaging in a one-man, private party of his own – a pity party.

He didn't hear Montgomery, who had not only taken a chance several months ago on the relatively-unknown artist to support his work but had also become a friend over the past few months, come up to stand quietly behind him. "What's bothering you today, my friend?" he asked softly. The older man, still classically-handsome at 55 years of age, was lean and tall with light-brown hair and green eyes. His skin was a dark bronze from way too many days spent either at the tanning spa or on Florida vacations out on his boat, but the only signs of overexposure came from the slight crinkles around his eyes.

Montgomery had first met Justin shortly after he had arrived in New York with a lot of ambition but little else to his name. From the beginning, though, there had been something about the young man – a lack of cynicism or pretense but a great deal of passion and drive. Justin had shown him some samples of his work, along with an impressive write-up in Art Forum magazine, rare for a relative unknown, and he had decided to take a chance and display some of his art. From that day forward, he had never regretted it; Justin had repaid him three-fold, not only monetarily but also through his friendship. In fact, over the past several months, the young artist had practically become the son he had always wished he had had, but had never quite seemed to find the time to get around to, and now he was a confirmed bachelor.

Justin looked behind him toward his friend and supporter. He sighed. "I'm just not happy with it, Jack," he said softly.

"I garnered that," the man said dryly with an amused smile. He walked closer to stand next to Justin and stare at his friend's latest project. "What's wrong with it, Justin? I think it's great. You're always too critical of your work, you know, and then it winds up selling for thousands of dollars." The last painting Justin hadn't liked had wound up selling for over $5,000 – not bad for a 'piece of shit,' as Justin had dubbed it at the time.

Justin bit his lip; he wasn't about to tell Jack the truth that he was queening out simply because it was his birthday and someone had apparently chosen to ignore it, or worse, had simply forgotten about it. He had spoken to Brian last night during their customary, nightly webcam phone sex marathon. They had found this to be a reasonable albeit not quite satisfactory solution to not being able to see each other in person more than twice a month while Justin was trying to further establish his art career in New York. It wasn't the best of arrangements – Justin longed to be with Brian every second of the day and the phone sex didn't come anywhere near to the real thing – but as long as he had their passion-filled reunions to look forward to, for the time being he could tolerate it.

What was bothering him the most, however, was that he kept waiting for Brian to at least mention his birthday that was today, and instead his partner had actually cut their 'session' short after they had both climaxed, telling him he had had a 'for-shit' day at Kinnetik and was exhausted. In fact, he had barely gotten a grunt of goodbye from Brian before he had logged off. That had not only made for a restless, sleepless night as he wondered what was going on, but it had also served to put him in a foul mood this morning.

"What's really bothering you?" He heard his friend ask. "I know you, Justin – it's not just the painting, is it?"

Justin shook his head. "I don't want to discuss it, Jack," he answered brusquely. He rubbed his hand over his face. "It's not important." Apparently my BIRTHDAY'S not important, either, he couldn't help thinking, berating himself for feeling sorry for himself but somehow unable to prevent it.

"Okay," Jack said softly. "I know better than to press you when you get this way." He smiled sympathetically. "You've been at that painting all morning. Why don't you get some fresh air for a while? Take your sketchpad and go for a walk down to your favorite people watching hole. Maybe you just need a fresh perspective on things," he suggested.

Justin smirked silently. Maybe I need a NEW partner, too, he couldn't help thinking….But he knew he didn't mean that; despite the fact that Brian could still sometimes be an asshole, he was still his asshole, and he still loved him deeply. He nodded. "Maybe you're right," he agreed. "It's a good day for it. I'll be back later; maybe it'll look more 'attractive' then," he quipped.

Jack smiled. "I think that's a good idea," he told his friend. "I assume you'll be at your customary place around the fountain where you always hang out? They're going to put your name on that bench soon."

Justin grinned. "You DO know me too well," he murmured. "Yeah….you can find me on my favorite bench if you need me, along with the pigeons," he kidded as Jack smiled. "I'll have my phone in case you have to reach me for anything." Jack nodded as Justin reached over to pick up his portfolio that contained a large-size sketchpad and several charcoal pencils. Even now, Justin never went anywhere without his supplies; in the city 'that never sleeps' with its diverse population and constantly-changing kaleidoscope of events, an artist never knew where his inspiration would come from, and Justin had found that his favorite spot to people watch provided him with plenty of fodder for future drawings.

As he left the gallery headed toward his destination, Jack waited long enough for him to disappear before he reached to pick up his cell phone and dial a well-known number. The phone had barely rung one ring before it was picked up.

"Is he gone?"

"Yeah….I steered him toward his favorite bench, just like you wanted. Oh, and he's in a foul mood, by the way," Jack added, laughing. "You've really got your work cut out for you."

"Don't worry," was the cocky retort, "I do this for a living, remember?"

Jack chuckled. "Yeah, I know….and I can't wait to see what you've come up with. I'm going to give him about a ten-minute head start before I head over there myself. You want me to call you when I make sure he's where he's supposed to be?"

"Nah….don't bother; I've got someone following him right now. He's promised not to let him out of his sight in case he decides to veer off somewhere else. If he does, though, the little shit's going to spoil everything."

Jack smiled. "Well, you know artists and their idiosyncrasies; better have a backup plan just in case."

Brian snorted. "I'm afraid with what I've got planned that wouldn't be too easy. Let's just hope he decides to stay predictable for today. At least it's lunchtime; we've got that on our side – he normally can't resist stopping at the Burger Joint on the way there."

"Yeah, you have a point there," Jack told him, smiling over that fact that Brian knew Justin so well, even from a distance. The Burger Joint was Justin's favorite burger restaurant on the way to the park. "Well, I'll make sure to stay out of sight. He's definitely not a happy camper at the moment."

Brian laughed. "Yeah…I figured as much. But I'll make it up to him, don't worry."

Brian turned around as he hung up the phone to face the virtual mob of people congregated inside his hotel room. Several pairs of eyes peered over at him expectantly. "Well, Operation Birthday is a go," he announced smugly as everyone clapped and smiled. "Mikey's tailing the little birthday boy as we speak. We'd better get going – countdown is in one hour."

"I can't wait to see his expression!" Debbie squeaked out in excitement. "Sunshine's going to be so surprised!"

"It's liable to embarrass the shit out of him, you know," Jennifer cautioned as she stood next to her red-headed friend.

"Yeah…this is going to be so much fun!" Daphne exclaimed, her eyes dancing. She couldn't wait to see her friend's reaction. Leave it to Brian to come up with a birthday idea that was absolutely over-the-top, but she wouldn't have expected nothing less from such an advertising genius as he.

Brian smirked. "He'll get over it," he replied, "once he sees what else is in store for him."

"He gets that all the time," Emmett pointed out helpfully. "What kind of surprise is that?"

Brian huffed. "I can do more than just fuck the shit out of him and give him the best blowjobs of his life," he growled. "Give me a little credit, Emmy Lou." He clapped to get everyone's attention; it seemed now that the moment was at hand, everybody in the room was trying to speak animatedly at once. "Okay, guys….let's get going. It's time to get this party started!"

He grinned as he reached down to swoop up Gus in his arms. "Ready to help Daddy celebrate Justin's birthday, Sonny Boy?"

Gus nodded his head excitedly. "Is he going to get cake and ice cream, Daddy?" To Gus, that was the best part of having a birthday, along with plenty of presents, of course.

Brian grinned as he walked over toward the door to lead everyone out of the room toward their destination. "You bet, Buddy…he's going to get lots of lots of treats today," he told his son; Gus squealed in delight as Brian hoisted him on top of his shoulders as soon as they were free of the door; the little boy felt ten feet tall as Brian led all of Justin's friends and family out of the crowded hotel suite and down the hallway toward the elevators. He grinned to himself – _yes, Sunshine, you are about to get the surprise of your life…._


	2. Putting the Plan into Motion

_Central Park – New York City_

"Shoo! Fuck off! " Justin gruffly admonished a trio of pigeons who were eyeing him intently with their beady little eyes. He held his hands up as if in surrender. "All gone, see?" he said. He had made the mistake of picking off some of the sesame seeds from his double-decker hamburger bun and flinging them down on the nearby ground for a bird that had landed nearby. Of course, one bird soon turned into a virtual flock of them as more and more of his 'brothers' by some unknown bird sonar had landed close by and waddled over to look at him expectantly. Naturally, several people sitting around some of the other curved park benches encircling the fountain glared at him resentfully as a result.

"So shoot me," he whispered to them defensively. He apparently hadn't been in New York City long enough to understand the unofficial etiquette when it came to not feeding the birds, but he was beginning to realize it probably wasn't such a good idea. At the moment, though, he was in a pretty foul mood himself, pun notwithstanding, so he really didn't give a shit what they thought anyway….

He scuffed angrily at a stone lying near his right foot, frightening the begging birds and effectively scaring them away. He silently belittled himself for getting upset over the fact that Brian had apparently forgotten his birthday. Why should he be so surprised? His partner had never made a big deal out of it before; he had never thought birthdays were even an event to be acknowledged, let alone celebrated. To Brian, birthdays were right up there with holidays – they were just another day on the calendar. No, scratch that, he recalled painfully. Brian did acknowledge his birthday – once. Between Ben throwing a major tantrum at his own surprise party that year, Lindsey and Mel taking him to a violin recital starring who-know-who and Brian's extravagant but predictable gift to him of a hustler bedecked with a big, red bow, that had been quite a memorable week – one that he would very much like to forget now.

He sighed; perhaps it was best, then, that Brian didn't remember his birthday after all. He noticed it didn't make him feel any better about it, though, as he sat on the curved bench, his open sketchpad propped up on his knees and a pack of charcoal pencils lying on the seat next to him unused.

_Snap out of it, Justin_, he chastised himself as he reached over to open the box of pencils and take out a sharpened one. He gazed out over the busy activity taking place around the fountain of gold-colored cherubs with water streaming from their hands; the warm temperature had brought out several businessmen and women for lunch, in addition to the typical mothers pushing their babies in strollers, the dog walkers, and the joggers. As he studied the variety of faces passing him by unnoticed, he decided he might as well make the most of a beautiful, late-spring day, too, rather than simply sitting there feeling sorry for himself.

As he continued to observe the sea of humanity walking by, he realized he did have a lot to be thankful for, despite his partner's lack of attention to his birthday. He was thankful that he had a mother who was so loving and supportive of him. He was thankful for his friends, especially Daphne and Emmett, who always tried to be brutally honest with him and made him laugh. He was thankful that he had a decent, albeit rather primitive place to stay in Chelsea with one of Daphne's cousins. He was thankful that at last he was making enough money to pay his monthly bills and pay for his food; in fact, for a young, relatively unknown artist in such a vast enclave of creative energy, most artists would be ecstatic to be in his position. Thanks in large part to Jack's faith in his ability he had already managed to sell several paintings in the five-figure range through the man's Chelsea art gallery. Of course, many of the most successful ones had featured his typical inspiration – Brian.

Brian…..He smiled in spite of himself. Despite the man's attitude toward not commemorating events that most people would pay special attention to, yes, he was thankful probably most of all for Brian, the man who had supported him, taught him to stand up for himself, showed him how not to accept any bullshit, and who had finally learned to love him enough to let him break out on his own to make his own way in the world. His heart almost physically hurt, though, as he thought of how much he missed him. Perhaps that was what made him upset most of all; it wasn't so much that Brian hadn't mentioned his birthday, it was the fact that Brian wasn't here with him.

God, he missed him so fucking much. He missed his voice at night when they lay in their bed softly talking to each other when the world was finally still around them. He missed his smell – the unique combination of his partner's expensive shampoo, soap, and aftershave, mixed with a little Beam, cigarettes, mint mouthwash, and just plain Brian that was so uniquely and tantalizing his. He missed the feeling of Brian's long, muscled arms around his waist as they woke up in the morning. He always found it amusing that when they went to bed, Brian "I don't cuddle" Kinney would be lying on his back, but invariably when they awakened the next morning, Justin would find himself cocooned in his partner's firm embrace, and it would feel so fucking good. Most of all, though, he missed their fucking and their lovemaking, no matter where it occurred. And with Brian, depending upon his mood, it could literally occur anywhere.  
>Nibbling on the eraser end of his pencil, Justin shook his head slightly to try and force thoughts of how much he missed Brian from his mind and tried to focus instead on the events taking place in front of him. He had always found a lot of unique ideas in the candid sketches he made of the quirky types he found here at Central Park, and today seemed to be no exception. In this location, one could find everything from the most staid businessman to street performers. He peered around curiously to try and find a subject for his next drawing as he basked in the sunny day and light breeze greeting him.<p>

This unexpected, beautiful oasis in the middle of such a huge, bustling city had always been such a balm to him, a sanctuary when his thoughts were in turmoil and his emotions were laid bare as they were right now. He suddenly noticed a tall, blonde-haired woman vicariously walking what appeared to be at least a half-dozen dogs of various sizes and shapes with a tangle of leashes, and he quickly flipped his sketchpad open to begin sketching a rudimentary drawing of it; the tip of his tongue poked out as he eyed the scene intently and, as his fingers flew over his paper, his sadness over not seeing the man he loved was at least momentarily pushed aside.

Michael's heart began to pound furiously as he felt what appeared to be the end of a gun's barrel sticking into his back and his hands flew up helplessly in response. "Take whatever you want," he pleaded to the silent assailant behind him. "Just don't hurt me; I have two children."

His anger flared, however, as he heard a familiar chuckle and he whirled around, his brown eyes flashing with disgust. "You asshole!" he snarled at Brian. "What the fuck, Brian!" He couldn't believe he had fallen for that trick twice now…..

"Language, Mikey," his friend chided him, nodding his head over toward Gus, who was staring at Michael doe-eyed in fascination; he had a big ball of fluffy, pink cotton candy in one chubby little hand as he stared at him intently. "Not in front of the child." He promptly dropped a medium-sized tree branch he had been holding in his hand.

Michael snorted; as if Brian ever worried about his language. But then again, he always seemed to play by a different set of rules when it came to Gus.

"Where's our birthday boy?" he asked his friend as he looked around to try and spy his 'target.' He had stopped to get some cotton candy for Gus nearby and had spied his friend hiding behind a large clump of bushes. Winking at his son, he had picked up the branch nearby and had decided to have a little fun at Michael's expense before carrying out Operation Birthday.

"He's over near the fountain, remember?" Michael said a little curtly; he was still annoyed with his friend's prank. "But you can relax, Al Capone, he's got his back to us. He doesn't suspect a thing. Of course, he would never expect you to show up for his birthday, anyway."  
>Brian maturely stuck his tongue at him before he turned his gaze to hone in immediately on the familiar frame of his partner. He hadn't seen Justin in almost two weeks now, and his hands were literally itching to hold him in his arms again. He had missed him so much over the past year, even though they had talked to each other frequently and had seen each other as much as their busy schedules would allow. Twice a month was never enough to satisfy his feelings for this man, though. He couldn't do much to change that for now, but he was determined this time to properly acknowledge his partner's birthday in a way that he would never forget; Justin deserved that much, and he was going to treat him to a birthday that would top all birthdays in true Kinney fashion…..<p>

"Where's everybody else?" he heard Michael say, not bothering to whisper. At least they didn't have to worry about Justin overhearing them; between the rushing of water from the fountain nearby and the crowd of people coming and going, there was no chance the blond could possibly catch their conversation.

"They're over by that grove of trees, waiting for my signal," Brian informed him, glancing over a group of tall maple trees located near the edge of the fountain's brick courtyard. "It's going to take a few minutes to get everything set up, and I didn't tell everyone to get here until 1:00, so they've got a few minutes yet."

At least being in New York, Justin wouldn't suspect anything unusual was happening, even when they began to prepare for the spectacle. In New York, anything wasn't out of the ordinary thankfully; hell, even movies were filmed in Central Park. No doubt Justin would just think it was some music video or fashion shoot being filmed if he noticed the cameras were being set up at all. Hopefully, if he knew his partner, he would be so absorbed in his latest artistic subject he wouldn't even notice at all…..

Brian could tell the crowd was beginning to thicken up, a promising sign. He craned his head around, trying to recognize some of the participants, but there were so many people milling about, it was hard to tell who was involved and who wasn't. He decided he would have to depend upon Emmett to make sure things were going as planned; he only hoped the disguise Honeycutt was wearing was convincing enough that Justin wouldn't realize who it was even if he did notice him. Maybe he should have had Mikey coordinate the event for him while wearing his Godiva outfit, but it was too late for that now. The wheels were already in motion, for better or worse…..

"Daddy? When does the party start?" he heard his son ask; he glanced down fondly and smiled at the little boy who was busily pulling a big glob of the sticky, sugary confection from its white paper cone and shoving the entire wad in his mouth.

"Soon, Sonny Boy," he told Gus tenderly. "Real soon."

"But Jus'n doesn't know anything about it, does he, Daddy?" he asked, smacking his lips to try and remove the stickiness from them. "It's our secret."

"That's right, Buddy," Brian told him. "It's going to be a real BIG surprise to him, too, believe me. Are you ready to help me with that? You remember what to do?"

The dark-haired, miniature version of his father nodded his head vigorously. "And I get to be near the front, don't I, Daddy?" he asked excitedly.

Brian curled his lips under as he knelt down to ruffle his son's hair affectionately. "You sure do….you're very important, you know. That's why you're up in the front with your moms." His heart warmed as he saw his son beam over what he said. He leaned over to kiss his son's cheek softly before standing back up. "Daddy has to get ready for his part now, okay? Michael will take you over to your moms so you can get ready. I'll see you after it's over, Sonny Boy."  
>Brian chuckled as Michael took hold of Gus' sticky hand and grimaced. He smirked at his friend's discomfiture as the two slowly made their way over to the rest of their party, making sure to stay out of Justin's line of sight. If Justin noticed any of his friends or family around, the cat would immediately be out of the bag; there would be no way it could simply be a coincidence. Brian symbolically crossed his fingers, hoping fervently that none of them would be detected before he could carry out their plan.<p>

"Psst!" he suddenly heard behind him. "Brian! It's me!" He turned around and his eyes twinkled as he observed what appeared to be a tall, red-headed woman in a Cher-type wig standing in front of him. 'She' was wearing long, gold hoop earrings, several strands of glass multi-colored beads, a pair of oversized, red-framed sunglasses, a silver, sparkly long-sleeved top with sheer sleeves, and a pair of shiny, black pants. Silver high-heels finished the outlandish ensemble.

Brian swept his gaze downward to get the full effect, his lips pursed tightly together to keep from laughing uproariously. He was afraid if he did, Justin would hear him, despite what he had thought earlier. "Uh…..do I know you, Gorgeous?" he asked politely. "I'm sorry, Honey, but I don't think we swing in the same circles."

The 'woman' huffed in a decidedly deep voice as 'she' placed her hands on his hips. "It's me, Brian…..Emmett." He took his hand and brushed back some of 'her' hair in true Cher fashion. "Wow, I really must have done a great job on this disguise."

Brian guffawed now. "Not quite, Emmy Lou – I knew it was you. Although," he added, peering downward, "you do seem to have undergone a Bobbitt. Where is Theodore's magic elixir when you need it?" he wondered. "Looks like someone's having issues with getting it up."  
>Emmett snorted. "It's called duct tape, Kinney."<p>

Brian grimaced; just the thought of hiding his own glorious cock under a mummy-like straightjacket of duct tape was definitely not a pleasant thought and it most certainly wasn't happening in his lifetime. "Everything ready to go?" he asked, glancing over to make sure Justin was still concentrating on his sketching from the nearby bench. He was relieved to see that his partner was still plastered to his spot, oblivious to all the drama playing out around him as his hand raced over his sketchpad, frantically trying to capture every candid moment of a scene before it passed.

"Yeah….Darren just got here, and he's helping to round up all the others," Emmett informed him. "We should be able to get started in about fifteen minutes."

Brian nodded. "What about the cameras and the loudspeakers?"

"All being taken care of. I told them to try and be as inconspicuous as possible, but frankly, in this town, I don't think Justin's even going to notice."

Brian huffed in agreement. "Probably not – publicity hounds and kooks are normal around this town." In fact, he was looking at one right now…..Although he had to grudgingly admit – without Emmett's party-planning skills, even with his advertising acumen he might not have been able to pull this off by himself. Once he had told all of Justin's friends and families what he wanted to do for his birthday, however, everyone had quickly rallied to volunteer to help out; even the two Munchers had happily flown in with Gus from Canada to participate. There was just something about his partner that always made others want to make him happy. Now he wanted to make him happy, too…It had taken months to put this whole plan in motion, but if it worked, it would be more than worth it.

He twisted his mouth affectionately over at his partner, who was totally oblivious to what was about to happen. Poor Sunshine; he's about to get the surprise of his life. Well, Justin….you always complained that I didn't do birthdays up right…..better be careful what you wish for…

He nodded at Emmett. "Okay, then….let's do it. I'll be right over." Emmett grinned, anxious to get the event started, as he nodded once and hurried back over toward the grove of trees where Justin's family and friends were waiting. The other people who would be involved – some of whom he didn't even know – were milling about the large, curved fountain plaza, waiting for their cue. Brian smiled, wondering how long it would take for Justin to realize he was the 'guest of honor' at their little shindig._ Just keep drawing, Sunshine…he thought silently. Then you'll REALLY have something to sketch…_


	3. Waiting for You

Emmett clapped his hands to get everyone's attention. "Listen up, people!" he shouted over the increasingly loud crescendo; the closer the event was nearing, the louder everyone's voices were getting. He was grateful that from their location, the water pouring from the fountain and the non-participants mingling around the plaza were serving as an effective insulation against his voice issuing instructions; he knew that Justin would definitely recognize it if he could hear it. "We're about to get started! Everyone needs to get in place! Where's our leadoff hitter?"

He waited impatiently but there was no reply. After a few seconds, he slapped his hand to his forehead in a 'duh' sort of moment, realizing their 'star' was probably acting out his part. "Has anyone seen the main mime?" he enunciated succinctly, not quite sure why he was doing that but somehow feeling like he needed to do it; after all, the man wasn't really deaf and actually now that he thought about it, he wasn't speechless, either – it was all an act.

Finally to his relief, he heard someone say near the back of the crowd, "He's coming!" and a tall, black-haired man came walking up wearing white face paint, black suspenders and a white-and-black striped shirt underneath a long-tailed matching coat and top hat; in his right hand was a shiny black cane with a white tip, and his mouth and eyes were framed in black like the classic version. He was wearing some pungent, cheap type of cologne that Emmett thought he recognized as one you could pick up at the local dollar store. Emmett burst out laughing at the unexpected sight, but immediately placed his hand over his mouth in an attempt to stifle his reaction when he noticed the mime narrowing his brows at him in obvious anger.

"Oh, my God!" he cried, his eyes dancing and his hands coming up in a clasp of delight. "Kiki did a wonderful job on you! Oh, this is going to be so good!" He frowned suddenly, thinking something was amiss but he wasn't quite sure what. Finally, it hit him. "Where're the flowers?" he scolded the painted man as he placed his hands on his hips and stared back at him as if he were speaking to a little, impertinent child. He nodded, satisfied though, as the mime glared at him and whipped out a bouquet of silk flowers from behind his back to bring it up to his nose and take a melodramatic sniff as he bowed slightly.

Emmett smiled at the antics. "You just might turn out to be a decent mime after all," he observed. "Shame the condition can't last forever," he added dryly, grinning as he received a look of disdain in return. "Well, go get into position, tall, dark, and silent. We're about ready to get this show on the road." He watched as the mime nodded and walked back toward the rear of the quickly-spreading crowd. Emmett urgently picked up his cell and punched in a designated number.

"Cal!" He had to speak loudly now to be heard over the rising din; he glanced over at Justin's spot near the fountain, making sure his friend was unaware of all the drama taking place so close by. He was relieved to notice that the blond was busily sketching away on some scene in front of him, still oblivious to all the planning going on practically under his nose. He smiled, excited to see his friend's reaction. He crossed his fingers in his imagination, praying that everything went according to plan, as he spoke to his boyfriend. "Hey, Baby! It's me…is the music all set up back there? What about the signs? Have you seen Gus?" He listened intently, nodding periodically as his partner advised him that everything was all set. He breathed a sigh of relief, still realizing, though, that it would be a miracle if all the components of this over-the-top scheme went off as planned. If it did, though, Justin was definitely going to have a birthday to end all birthdays.

He glanced down at his watch, noticing it was nearly 1:00 – almost show time. He let out a calming breath, taking a look over at the plaza as he recognized several people that would be taking part in the celebration. To a casual observer, they were merely people either enjoying the warm, late-spring day or vendors hawking their wares; little did Justin – or the other sun worshippers near the fountain – know that they were actually unaware co-conspirators in a huge, outlandish celebration party about to occur just for him.

He continued to listen to Cal rattle off all the players' positions in this incredible event, nodding in satisfaction. "Okay, Sweetie, keep the group under control back there, I'm counting on you. We'll be starting soon. I'm going to send our mime out and then when the music starts, the rest will need to follow. Will you keep an eye on all the equipment in the meantime and make sure everyone has what they need? Michael will help you pass everything out. I'd say we need to be ready in about five minutes – that should give our mime enough time to do his part first, okay?" He looked around, scanning the crowd until he spotted the black-clad man standing nearby, lightly balancing back on forth on each foot in restless anticipation. He smiled at the man's nervousness, which was no doubt even more than his; he knew this man was even more anxious to make sure their production went off without a hitch.

He returned to his conversation. "Thanks, Baby; as my Aunt Lula used to say – you're the cat's meow!" He snapped his phone shut and took a deep breath, feeling the adrenalin rushing nervously through his system. He harrumphed; and he thought catering was a big job. If he managed to live through this, and it actually went off as planned, he was definitely going to raise his party planning rates when he got back home….He had to take care of first things first, though. He could distinctly feel a sense of nervous electricity suddenly in the air, as if everyone realized the big moment was finally at hand for a totally unsuspecting birthday boy. Okay, Mr. Black and White and in Dread all Over…..time to do your magic, he thought to himself. Taking one more deep breath, he caught the eye of their most important component and nodded, gesturing with his hand frantically to get a move on. The mime glared at him and rolled his painted-up eyes before turning and walking over to the plaza where their target was located.

"Here goes nothing," Emmett murmured in trepidation as he watched the man slowly meandering over casually toward the fountain area as if he were merely putting on a show for an audience. In a way, that was right – and what a show it was going to be….. "Good luck," he whispered. "Give Baby one he'll never forget."

* * *

><p>"Fuck," Justin muttered, as he grasped his right hand with his left and massaged it. He should have known better than to keep drawing without taking a break, but a wizened, elderly couple sitting across from him on another bench, holding hands as they gazed in wonder at a flock of pigeons, had entranced him and he just had to get them down on paper. He had spent the past thirty minutes quickly sketching them for fear they would get up and leave before he was finished, and now he was paying the price. Thankfully, he had managed to complete at least a preliminary sketch and could take a rest. He put his pencil and sketchpad down on the bench's seat next to him and gazed around the plaza. Since he had first arrived, the number of people had been increasing rapidly; there were all sorts of park goers gathered around now, from mothers pushing their babies in strollers, to joggers, to vendors hawking everything from New York City souvenirs and hot dogs. He knew, in fact, if he hadn't stopped to pick up a hamburger already, he would be sitting here munching away on one of the hot dogs that he could smell from nearby. Perhaps for dinner later….after all, it wasn't as if he had anything in particular planned for today – it was just his birthday.<p>

He sighed; trying hard not to think about it. He had been able to put that fact out of his mind for a little while, but now that he was finished with his sketch, his mind was wandering back to the significance of the day and how much he missed Brian, aka the 'unromantic' one. Although perhaps that wasn't being fair to his partner; after all, it wasn't every man who purchased a mansion 'for his prince,' as he had put it. He thought he would die of shock when Brian had said that; it was so totally uncharacteristic of the man. But Brian never did do anything predictable; he had to admit – he was anything but dull. He just wished he would make a little more effort to at least acknowledge special occasions, especially his birthday, and not with his typical, Brian Kinney flair. A simple card and a 'Happy Birthday' would suffice for him. But he knew that was not going to be the case; he might as well suck it up and move on with his day.

He supposed he should be thinking about returning to the gallery to work on his current, unfinished work, but the day was so beautiful and warm it was difficult to leave this picturesque location. He savored not only using the park for art inspiration but also enjoyed simply sitting on one of the benches doing some simple people-watching, and today the crowd seemed to be more colorful than usual.

Deciding he should give his hand a rest anyway but reluctant to move back indoors, he leaned back and closed his eyes, relishing in the warmth of the sun on his face and the sounds of this sanctuary in the midst of such a teeming, big city. The delighted cries of children playing and the rush of the fountain, along with the voices of people conversing nearby, almost lulled him to sleep as he continued to sit there with his eyes closed, his hands spread out along the back of the bench.

A sudden tapping on his shoulder a few seconds later startled him and made his eyes fly open in momentary fear. He turned his head anxiously to see what was going on and his face relaxed as his mouth broke out into an amused smile. It was a mime, dressed in a traditional black-and-white striped shirt, black suspenders, and black pants; only this one was a little more elegantly dressed than most. This performer had a matching long-tailed coat and a top hat, ala Charlie Chaplin, and a sleek, black walking stick with a white tip on the end that he had apparently used to get his attention with. As he watched the man stare at him intently with expressive, dark blue eyes, Justin was unaware that he was the object of many more stares from several interested people in the crowd who were trying to appear nonchalant but were watching him secretly out of the corner of their eyes. He gazed into the other man's eyes, feeling like somehow he knew this man but deciding he couldn't possibly, at least not in that garb. Perhaps he was a visitor to the art gallery, or someone who frequented the park like he did (sans his makeup, of course), but he couldn't be sure.

Justin watched entranced as the mime sauntered out from behind the bench and, taking his hat off briefly, he gave him a slight bow; he stood back up and with a flourish, produced a small bouquet of sunshine-yellow daffodils with orange centers from around his back and extended them out for Justin to take. It was the kind of cheesy-looking flowers a clown might carry around in his pocket to whip out for an unsuspecting circus-goer, but Justin was delighted with the mime's quaint routine as he giggled softly. "Why, aren't you just the little charmer," he cooed, smiling warmly as he accepted the flowers; the mime couldn't help smiling back at him as he wagged his eyebrows coquettishly. While Justin watched from the bench, the mime leaned over and pressed a couple of long fingers to Justin's upper arm and then promptly jumped back as if he had been burnt, bringing his hand up to his mouth and blowing on his fingers as he winked back at him.  
>Justin laughed, totally captivated by this amusing show.<p>

"So you think I'm hot, do you?" he asked as the man smiled back silently and nodded. "Well, I'm sure to another mime, you would be, too," he quipped diplomatically as the man stuck his thumbs in his label buttonholes and promptly jutted his chin out proudly, causing Justin to giggle in delight.

As the man looked at Justin, standing there for a few seconds as if he was memorizing every feature of the blond's face, he smiled again softly and slowly brought his right hand up to his lips to pretend to blow Justin a kiss; with one more bow, he reluctantly turned and walked away, eventually being swallowed up by the burgeoning crowd. Justin smiled over the man's charming antics as he watched him leave, his heart feeling just a little lighter now until his mind returned to his previous plight and he sighed softly; scanning the crowd, he noticed it was quickly getting larger and larger. Even now, after all these years, he still felt just a twinge of uneasiness in such a large gathering; he decided he'd best be getting back to the art gallery anyway, as much as he hated the idea of being cooped up on such a glorious spring day.

He started to gather up his art supplies when a song began to blast seemingly out of nowhere; he recognized the beginning piano strains as an up-tempo ballad - "When Love Takes Over" sung by Kelly Rowland – that was frequently played at Babylon – and it made him a little nostalgic in recollection, especially in light of what day it was; it made him think of home – of Brian – and how much he missed him. The song began to get even louder now as he started to rise from his seat, and a very odd thing happened; the hot dog vendor situated directly across from him near the fountain began to sway back and forth in time with the music, raising his hands above his head as he did so while he held a metal spatula in his hand. Then two patrons who had been standing in front of the portable vendor cart turned around and began to do the same thing. Then four more people – two women who had been pushing baby strollers around and two men wearing business suits that were sitting on a nearby bench – began to stop what they were doing and dance along, too, all in perfect synchrony with each other as if it had been choreographed.

Justin looked at them in puzzlement, and his eyes widened as even more people began to dance along with them; there were two men wearing jeans and tee-shirts, one with short-cropped, dark blond hair and a brunet with a long ponytail in back, gyrating away to the music in step with all the others. Then more and then more joined in – women, men, even children – until there must have been thirty of them dancing together in step with the lively tune.

It wasn't exactly unusual to see such weird goings-on in the park, but still, Justin had to smile in amusement, wondering why in the world they were performing and what the reason was for it. He continued to watch, captivated, as the dancing crowd parted like an flowing, undulating sea and a parade of more mimes appeared from behind the first curtain of people. Justin laughed softly at the unexpected, almost macabre site of an ocean of black-and-white, noticing they each had an object in their hands: flower bouquets similar to the one the first mime had given him. He idly thought they must all be part of some dance troupe or entertainment association with the first mime and were performing to publicize some show they must be getting ready to put on; it wasn't unusual to see such displays here in the park.

The 'normal-looking' dancing group stood to the side of the prancing mimes as they kept perfect time with them from the sidelines; the mimes began to march together, dancing in a sort of goofy, Snoopy-type dance with the beat as they held the bouquet in one fisted hand and clapped their hands together in time with the beat of the music as they continued to move forward, away from the fountain and seemingly heading directly toward him.

As they continued to prance in his direction, he decided it had to merely be a coincidence, as he watched them with ever-widening blue eyes just like all the other non-participating spectators. The mass of people continued to approach like they were coming over to him specifically. He noticed other non-dancers eyeing him with the same thought as they continued to advance, dancing in perfect time with the music; they were doing waves with their hands now over their heads and marching in time with the tune, the cheery-hued bouquets providing the park with a splash of spring color.

As they came within a few feet of him, Justin glanced behind him, expecting to see the object of their attention that would explain what was going on, but all he saw were other park visitors, staring gaga at the mimes just like he was. Nothing appeared out of place, except for this odd parade seemingly heading straight toward him. He stared at them as they approached, somehow realizing that all these people had to be here for him. He bit his lip nervously as they came closer and closer while the music continued to blare from above.

As the first mime reached Justin – a woman with long blond hair wearing a black cap jauntily on her head – she silently extended to him a silk bouquet of yellow peonies and smiled. He held out his hand, which was now trembling with jumpiness over being the center of attention, and accepted the bouquet as the woman reached over and kissed him briefly on the cheek before gyrating away toward the side, still flowing in time with the music.

The next mime, a dark-haired woman with short hair, repeated the same action, but this time handed him a bouquet of yellow carnations; he could see other park patrons furiously snapping photos with their camera phones held high as the procession continued and what must have been at least fifty other people dancing in perfect choreography with the dance tune around the fountain's perimeter.

As the dark-haired woman skirted away, the mime after her – a dark-haired man holding onto the hand of a little boy mime – danced up a little less fluidly and held out a bouquet of yellow daisies. Justin stared at the man, trying to figure out why he seemed so familiar, before he leaned down to peer at the child whose hand the other man was holding and a rush of realization struck him.

The little boy thrust the flowers out at Justin – a bouquet of yellow Black-Eyed Susans – and quickly darted off, still holding onto the dark-haired man's hand as the music continued to blare and the dancing crowd got larger and larger. As the little boy ran off, though, it all finally began to coalesce into place, and he knew for certain. This whole spectacle WAS for him…..that little boy was Gus! And the two women dressed up so identically in black and white were Mel and Lindsey. And the dark-haired man holding Gus' hand had to be Michael….He sat there in stunned awe, his eyes drinking in the whole thing – the hypnotic music, the colorful dancing mimes, and the swelling crowd dancing in time to the music:

_When love takes over, yeah  
>You know you can't deny<br>When love takes over, yeah  
>'Cause something's here tonight<em>

Give me a reason, I gotta know  
>Do you feel it too?<br>Can't you see me here on overload?  
>And this time I blame you<p>

Oh, looking out for you to hold my hand  
>It feels like I could fall<br>Now love me right like I know you can  
>We could lose it all<p>

A couple more mimes he didn't recognize presented him with more flowers – one a bouquet of yellow zinnias and another one a stalk of yellow dahlias, before one more mime came dancing up like a pleasingly-plump whirlwind; even though the woman was trying hard to disguise her real identity behind an ill-fitting, coal-black, curly wig, it was hard pretending not to recognize the woman who came rushing up with tears in her eyes and strands of red hair poking out; the multi-colored vest was also a dead giveaway.

Even if he hadn't instantly recognized Debbie from her fiery hair and appearance, he would have known who she was by the tears in her eyes and the expression on her face. She clasped one hand to her breast, overcome with emotion, as she smiled through her glistening blue eyes and presented Justin with a long-stemmed bouquet of sunflowers. She reached over to give him a red-lipsticked kiss on his cheek, taking a corner of her multi-colored vest to his face to try and wipe off the residue. "Thanks, Deb," Justin couldn't help whispering, smiling warmly at her as she looked at him and huffed. "Little asshole," she said affectionately, sniffling in choked reply as she walked away to join the rest of the mime group. Justin laughed softly in delight as he watched her go and accepted yet some other bouquets before the initial wave finally came to an end.

Once the mimes had finished gifting him with a virtual flower shop of blooms – all sunshine yellow in color – another group of dancers came strutting by. This time the dancers were holding artist's palettes in one of their hands and twirled, gyrated and held them high over their heads as dance props while they danced by him and the music continued to pound:

_Tonight, tonight, tonight, tonight  
>Tonight, tonight, tonight, tonight<br>Tonight, tonight, tonight, tonight  
>Tonight, tonight, tonight, tonight<em>

I'll be loving all the time, it's true  
>'Cause I want to make it right with you<p>

Justin sat there in shock as the scene continued forever, his hand over his mouth in a combination of amazement and anticipation; the flowers he had been presented with were cascading over the edge of the bench. His heart that had been previously empty with self-pity was now threatening to overflow with gratitude for the genuine outpouring of love and support he felt from his friends. But there was one vital piece of the puzzle missing; he knew there could only be one man capable of supervising such an incredible spectacle – Brian. But where was he? He wanted to see him, hold him, and talk to him so badly. As the dancing continued, the crowd growing larger and larger, he stood up uncertainly, hoping the one man he wanted to see so terribly was somewhere nearby.

* * *

><p>"Hurry up, Honeycutt! Get me out of this fucking makeup!" Brian growled as he stood behind a grove of trees nearby and hurriedly took off everything except his black pants from the mime's outfit while the dancers kept Justin distracted. He quickly squeezed the corners of his eyes to eject the blue contact lenses from his eyes and tore the black wig off his head as Ted, standing nearby, hurriedly handed him his shirt and Emmett stood over him scowling with the makeup remover.<p>

The music continued to blare as Emmett groused, "You're going to have to stand still for a minute, Brian, unless you want to look like the Phantom of the Opera when you see him! Hold on!" he cautioned as the restless, fidgety brunet finally huffed impatiently but nonetheless stood still long enough for Emmett to remove his face paint. The Cher wannabe quickly picked up another wet hand towel he had hanging from a low-lying tree branch and wiped any remaining residue from Brian's face before quickly running a hairbrush through the auburn locks and nodding. "Okay, go!" he instructed Brian. "They're about done now and the song's about to end!"

Brian began to rush away, only to be grabbed on the arm by Emmett. "Don't forget this!" he told the man, retrieving an object Ted held in his hand for safekeeping. "Now go give Baby the surprise of his life!" he added as Brian ran off to get into place.

The parade of dancers continued their movements, some swaying and spinning in place in a huge circle around the fountain while others marched around the perimeter. Finally, the dancers parted once more to reveal four of the mimes again – this time each one holding up a large segment of a yellow board; Justin immediately recognized Mel, Lindsey, Michael now, along with another person who had to be Ben; he could see Gus holding onto Lindsey's hand as he pounded on a small drum held up around his waist by a sash with an object that looked suspiciously like a medium-sized paintbrush. They stood facing Justin, smiling as they swayed in time to the music, swinging the board to the right and left with the beat as, finally, one by one, each friend flipped their part of the sign over to reveal a message on the other side: Happy – Birthday – Sunshine – with the last, fourth part containing a large, yellow sun with a smiley face on it.

As the music slowly died down to the end, Justin's eyes filled with tears of happiness as he realized his friends hadn't forgotten him at all; he clapped in hands in appreciation for the incredible over-the-top celebration display for his birthday, but his heart absolutely exploded with joy when his friends parted their sign in the middle at last to reveal Brian standing there, wearing a black wifebeater shirt and black pants, one perfect, long-stemmed yellow rose in his hand and a tender smile on his face as he stared into the delighted face of the man he loved so deeply.

* * *

><p><em>AN: The name and artist for the song is "When Love Takes Over" by Kelly Rowland._


	4. The Heart Takes Flight

The flashmob participants stopped their dancing and, together with all the other gawkers, stood still to observe the two men looking at each other as a different, slower tune began to play now. Brian slowly began to walk over to Justin, who found that he couldn't move from his place on the bench; he was still having a hard time coming to terms with the man he loved walking over to him with a sexy smile on his face and holding the most perfect, beautiful long-stemmed rose he had ever seen in one of his elegant hands. The tune's volume began to rise over the loudspeakers as Brian came closer and closer until he was standing directly in front of Justin; he held the rose out to his lover as Justin tentatively took it from him, taking a whiff of the intoxicating scent before he gently placed it down beside him on the bench and peered back up at his partner.

Brian curled his lips under almost coquettishly as he held his free hand out toward him. Justin's eyes misted over as he reached to grab Brian's hand before he managed to convince himself this was all just a wonderful dream that he would unfortunately soon awaken from. As he savored the feel of his lover's warm fingers curling around his and he was slowly pulled to his feet, however, he knew this was all marvelously, wondrously real.

Justin felt just a little uncomfortable as he realized he was the object of literally hundreds of eyes staring at him and Brian, but he didn't have time to dwell on that fact; he was too busy smiling back goofily at his lover, who smirked at him in his typical, amused sneer.

"Surprised, Sunshine?" Brian asked him softly, sliding his hands around the slender back; at that moment, there could have been two or two thousand people nearby watching them; he didn't know and he didn't care. He could only see one, perfect pair of beautiful blue eyes staring back at him with unabashed love as his partner shook his head at him in amazement.

"You might say that," he whispered emotionally, staring intently into his partner's loving eyes. He could drown in those eyes willingly; how he had missed them so. He had missed feeling Brian's arms surrounding him, his voice, his look, his touch. His art helped to describe who he was and helped him express his most fervent hopes and dreams. But only when he was being held like this in Brian's arms did he feel totally complete. "I….I don't know what to say," he whispered, as his own hands slid up to settle around Brian's neck while he stared into the golden-green eyes.

Brian grinned as his hands slowly roamed over Justin's back; his face gradually changed into something more serious as he leaned in to do what he had been longing to do for the past two weeks. "Then don't talk," he whispered. As his lips gently touched his lover's, he couldn't help the sigh of contentment that escaped his throat as they began their familiar, sweet refrain of getting reacquainted.

The soft, sweet tune proceeded to play over several loudspeakers as they continued to kiss for several seconds until they finally broke apart reluctantly. Brian smiled at his lover tenderly. "I knew I'd better pick a long one," he whispered as Justin frowned slightly in an attempt to comprehend what he meant. "Dance with me," he implored as Justin smiled in understanding and Brian slowly pulled him by the hand toward the center of the plaza near the fountain. The crowd parted silently as the couple walked forward until they were standing close enough to the water that they could feel the light whisper of the spray on their faces.

Brian once more gathered Justin into his arms as the blond nestled his head under his chin and they started to sway in time to the music; they had always fit together so beautifully whether they were dancing or making love, and he still marveled at that fact. He placed his hands against Brian's chest, feeling the reassuring beat of his heart against his palms.

"I've missed you," Justin heard Brian unexpectedly say against his cheek as his heart swelled. "So fucking much." He rubbed his cheek against Justin's, inhaling the sweet, familiar scent as his eyes closed in rapture. "When I get you alone, I'll show you how much."

Justin sighed in pleasure; ever since their last visit, he had dreamed about being held in his partner's arms again, and now Brian was here, doing just that. He pulled back to gaze into the intense, almost chocolate eyes. "By the way, you make a sexy mime," he whispered, smiling up at the handsome face as their hips continued to sway in unison.

Brian raised his brows in surprise. "You recognized me?" He had thought for sure by the amused but neutral expression on Justin's face earlier that he had succeeded in duping him.

"Not at first," the blond admitted as they rocked slowly together and Brian brought his hands around to settle on the slim hips of his partner. "I didn't put two and two together until after I recognized Gus, Michael and the Munchers."

Brian nodded as he brought his head down to rest against Justin's forehead. "It was hard not to swoop you up and fuck you right there on the pavement," he whispered huskily, his breath washing over Justin like a sensual tidal wave of passion. "And trust me, no matter what disguise I might be wearing, you'll ALWAYS be hot to me."

Justin shivered in reaction to Brian's statement as he wrapped his arms around his partner's neck and feathered the soft auburn hair at his nape. It was as if he was reading his own mind, because he couldn't wait to be alone with his lover again. He leaned back to gaze into the darkening eyes to say softly, "I suppose it would be rude to just run off and desert everyone."

Brian grinned as he pulled on Justin's hips to bring their bodies closer together as the music continued to play overhead; he noticed out of the corner of his eye that other couples, both gay and straight, were now beginning to dance with each other as well. "Yeah, as much as I would like nothing better, I don't think Cher, our party planner, would appreciate that. He's gone to too much trouble."

"Cher? He?" Justin asked, puzzled. "Yeah," Brian replied, jerking his head to the side so Justin would follow his gaze; he observed a tall, red-headed woman with her hand clasped over her heart and tears in her eyes as she stared over at them, a storm of sentimental emotion written all over her face. As Justin caught the woman's eye, she gave him a bright smile and a little wave. He thought the woman looked familiar, and she apparently knew him somehow…..

"Oh, no!" Justin exclaimed as a light bulb suddenly went on over his head. "You got Emmett to arrange all this?" He should have known Em would have been commandeered to help plan his festivities.

Brian growled, "Now don't go giving him that much credit – it was my idea; he just helped me carry it out." For some reason, it was important to Brian that Justin realize just how hard he had worked at planning all of this; he wanted him to know he loved him enough to follow through with something like this, even if it was outrageously romantic.

Justin was inordinately pleased to hear that, because knowing that Brian thought enough of his birthday to bring in so many of their friends and plan something so outlandish and over-the-top filled him with joy. He beamed back at his partner. "Well, you outdid yourself, then," he whispered back, "because this is more than I ever could have imagined; this is the best birthday I've ever had." He stared into Brian's eyes for a few seconds before he confessed softly, "I actually thought you had forgotten about it."

Brian brought his hands up to gently but firmly cup Justin's face and gaze into the sparkling blue eyes as their bodies flowed together; the other participants and gawkers had long ago resumed either their own activities or were too busy dancing along with them to pay them much heed any more. "I would never, ever forget your birthday again, Justin…..or you," he affirmed almost in embarrassment as his lips curled under shyly. For someone who had made such a fervent effort to insist he never did love, or ever got attached to someone exclusively, Brian Kinney had come a long way, and surprisingly enough he really didn't mind any more. In fact, he thrived on it now. His heart had the capacity for emotions he never thought he even was capable of; both his son and especially Justin had been the cause of it and he would be forever grateful for that.

He smiled back into the delighted face of his partner as his mouth lifted up in one corner tenderly as the music finally came to an end and everyone around them clapped appreciatively. Brian leaned down to steal one more brief kiss from his partner as he wrapped his arms around Justin's waist and whispered in his ear, "Your friends and family are waiting nearby to continue this celebration. Ready to go? The sooner we get that part out of the way, the sooner I can fuck your hot little ass senseless."

Justin leaned back from their kiss to smile up at him, his face slightly flushed with happiness. "I noticed Debbie was here, along with the others. My mom's here, too?"

Brian nodded. "And even the mollusk. And if that's not enough reason to get the rest of this show on the road, there's cake, too."

Justin's eyes lit up and Brian grinned at the predictable response. "Cake? You got me a birthday cake?" Living in New York was expensive as hell, and while Justin was by no means a starving artist now, he never passed up an invitation for free food, either, especially when it involved being with his friends, family, and especially Brian.

"Yeah," Brian reported with a smile as he broke apart from Justin and grabbed him by the arm. "So let's go get something for you to eat…and then I can eat your ass." Justin blushed – a fact that Brian still found so endearing even after all these years. "Come on, Birthday Boy."

Justin laughed but then quickly said, "Wait!" Brian arched a brow in question, but allowed his partner to pull him back over toward the bench to retrieve his art supplies and more importantly, the single yellow rose; compared to the silk flowers that were still draped over part of the bench, this one, perfect flower was far superior and precious than all the others. Grinning sheepishly back at the brunet, he nodded once in satisfaction before sliding the portfolio's strap diagonally across his chest and shoulder. Holding the flower securely in one hand, he grasped Brian's hand in his and said, "Now I'm ready."

Brian grinned. "Good; our transportation is over there," he said, tugging Justin along toward the edge of the crowd, who clapped and smiled at them as they parted in the middle as they walked by. Justin blushed once more at all the attention, but he had never felt so happy in his life. As the last of the crowd separated at the fringe of the large group and he could see what was lying beyond in the clearing, he gasped. "Brian," he murmured in awe. Just when he thought this day couldn't get any grander, Brian proved him wrong; there waiting for them was a white, wooden carriage with a curved design, bedecked with white and red roses and led by a brown and white horse; a distinguished, older man wearing a top hat and tails waiting patiently for them to arrive. "Oh, my God!" he cried out in delight, as Brian rolled his eyes at the sentimental tears forming in his eyes. "We're going on a carriage ride?" he exclaimed in disbelief as he turned to look at his partner.

Brian's abhorrence for such overtly romantic gestures quickly disappeared at the look of joy in Justin's eyes. How in the world he could have not realized what Justin had wanted all along back in the days of the infamous 'birthday hustler' suddenly eluded him. If he had known he would have received the look of absolute elation on his partner's face that he was seeing now, he would have done something like this a lot more often; the sun itself would have been blinded by the smile on his partner's face as he nodded and said, "Your four-legged limousine awaits, Mr. Taylor." He held out his hand toward the carriage as Justin literally pulled him along with his other hand toward their transportation.

A few minutes later, safely snuggled – yes, snuggled – in the back of the carriage's red leather rear seat, Justin sighed in pure bliss as the only sounds heard were the wind rustling the leaves, the occasional bird chirping, and the clip-clop of the horse's hooves as the carriage slowly wound itself around the park's main pathway toward the next part of the festivities. Justin laid his head against Brian's chest as the brunet wrapped his arm around his shoulders and pulled him closer. "Just don't be counting on having this steed available every day for riding, Sunshine. The one pulling the carriage, anyway," he snickered.

Justin raised his head to peer into the loving eyes of his partner in puzzlement; just what was Brian trying to say? Was he saying that they could possibly see each other every day? But how? "What do you mean, Brian?" he asked softly.

Brian smiled down at him tenderly before placing his head on top of the blond hair. "Ask me again later, Sunshine," he replied mysteriously as he rubbed his cheek against the soft mop and inhaled a breath of pure Justin; at that moment, he couldn't think of any place he'd rather be – or anyone else he rather be with.

Remarkably, his partner chose to remain silent, acquiescing to his request at least for now not to press him. But he knew Justin had picked up instantly on his comment and would be quizzing him about it later. As he heard Justin sigh, whether in frustration, contentment, or a combination of both, he knew that at least for now he had dodged a bullet.

* * *

><p><em>Twenty Minutes Later<em>

Justin raised his head to crane his neck over at a large, green-and-white tent that had been constructed in one of the large, grassy areas of the park; he recognized several of their friends among the rather large group milling about the tent, which had been set up with several round tables and chairs inside. As the carriage came to a stop, several of the party participants came walking toward them, clapping and yelling birthday wishes to Justin.

Brian jumped down first, and then held his hands up to grasp Justin by the waist and help him down, also. The blond beamed at all the faces he recognized – now sans their mime makeup and black-and-white clothing and dressed in more casual, 'normal' clothing. That is, all except Emmett, who chose to remain in his glittery Cher costume; he was flitting around the tent, barking out orders to the wait staff manning the full bar stocked with the birthday boy's favorite liquors – along with some of Brian's as well. He was also keeping a keen eye on the impressive but rather unusual birthday cake that Brian had commissioned just for Justin's birthday today; he knew if anything happened to that, Brian would be pissed as hell and he would never hear the end of it. At least his rather flamboyant dress and his tall stature made him easy to see; he smiled and waved to Justin as he caught his eye before hearing a loud bang coming from somewhere near the back of the tent and hurrying away to investigate, praying there wasn't a minor catastrophe in the making soon.

"Mom, Molly," Justin said warmly, giving his mother and sister a hug before repeating the same action with his 'other' mother, who snapped a large wad of gum at him as she wished her 'Sunshine' a boisterous happy birthday.  
>Debbie growled over at Brian, "For once, that asshole did something right for a change."<p>

Brian slid his arm around Justin and pulled him tightly against the side of his body. "Why, Deb, what a sweet thing to say," he remarked facetiously. "That just goes straight to my heart."

Debbie snorted good-naturedly. "Well, that's a first – normally it would go straight to your dick." She glanced over at Justin, who smiled at the typical bantering that was occurring; he seemed to be enjoying himself immensely, which made  
>Debbie smile back at him in return. "Well, that's before Sunshine came along and changed that," she commented as she reached over briefly to rest her hand against his pale cheek. As she dropped her hand away, she waggled a red-lacquered finger back at Brian to say, "You make sure the rest of his birthday is a happy one, too, you hear me, you little shit?"<p>

Brian grinned. "Yes, Mother," he answered dutifully as Debbie grinned. "Now if you'll excuse me, I think the guest of honor here has a cake to cut."

"I'll catch up with you later, Deb," Justin told his friend before he smiled and allowed Brian to turn him around to travel toward the opposite side of the tent where the impressive cake had been displayed. As they approached it closer, Justin shook his head. "That's a cake?" he asked in awe as he slowly walked around the subject in question to study its detail from every angle. The object was pale blue in color and had a rectangular shape, about the size of an extra-large sheet cake, and was propped up on an easel as if it were a painting. There was even an ornate, steel-gray colored frame surrounding the 'picture,' which appeared to be a flat sort of mirror; Justin could see the light from the sun's rays reflecting off the silver surface. "It looks like a mirror on it," he murmured in puzzlement. It was unlike any birthday cake he had ever seen. It was cleverly arranged as if it was perhaps an unfinished painting of some sort but was oddly stark in nature with only the mirror on the top. "What's it supposed to be? I mean, I get the resemblance to a painting, but…." He was expecting something lavish and ornate from someone like Brian, not this rather plain-looking confection, although to him it didn't matter; he had already gotten his most desired birthday present of all, so everything else was just an added bonus.

"Stand directly in front of it," Brian instructed him as he placed his hands on Justin's upper arms and, walking behind him, gently prodded him forward until he was looking directly into the mirror. Only then did he see the writing above the shining surface that was only evident if you looked into the mirror directly: Happy Birthday, Justin….Nothing compares to you….

Up until then, Justin had managed to keep a pretty stiff upper lip, despite all the wonderful surprises Brian had given him. But as he realized what the writing said, and the romantic meaning behind it, he couldn't help the waterworks from beginning to flow.

"Brian…." He whispered, overcome with emotion. He sniffled as Brian smiled back at him in the mirror's reflection congenially. "I guess I'm lucky your allergies didn't act up until now," he teased his partner. "I figured that would probably open up the floodgates, though." He placed his chin on Justin's shoulder to whisper in his ear, "I mean it, too, Justin." He gave Justin's ear a small nip on the lower lobe before he added, "Now cut that damn thing so we can get on with the public party and then move onto a more private one, okay?"

Justin let out a breath and nodded. His heart was so full of love for this man at the moment he was finding it hard to speak coherently. But he wanted the same thing Brian did – as much as he loved being here with his family and friends, his most desired wish was to be alone with his partner – the sooner, the better.

He looked around, spying Gus playing with one of the balloons that were lining the perimeter of the tent. "Hey, Buddy!" Justin called over to Brian's son. "How'd you like to be the first person to have some cake?"

* * *

><p><em>Two Hours Later<em>

The sun's rays were beginning to decline as Justin reluctantly bade his friends and family goodbye as they boarded a nearby motor coach bus that would take them back to LaGuardia; Brian had arranged for a privately-chartered jet to take the group back home to Pittsburgh. Justin was almost afraid to ask Brian when he would need to return as well while he gave his mom and sister one final hug before they ascended the steps of the bus. He gave his friends one last wave before the vehicle slowly began to roll away, finally leaving the two lovers alone for the first time today.  
>He turned as Brian gathered him in his embrace to peer up at his partner's face to ask hopefully, "You're going to be able to stay for a while, aren't you?"<p>

Brian gave him an astonished look of disbelief. "Justin….of course I'm staying! I told you," he whispered. "I've planning on having my appetite satisfied today, too…..and tonight, and tomorrow, and tomorrow night…I want to do a little celebrating myself." He silently thought how much he meant that; of course, any time spent with his partner was always a cause for celebration.

Justin smiled brightly in relief. "So you can stay for a few days?" He hadn't forgotten the enigmatic comment Brian had made earlier; he was definitely planning on finding out exactly what Brian had meant by his mysterious remark, but for now he was content just knowing that his partner wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.  
>Brian nodded. "You bet….I'm not going anywhere." He leaned down to kiss the warm, inviting lips. "You ready for your next surprise?" he asked, arching his eyebrows and curling his lips under.<p>

"You mean me, you, naked and making hot, passionate love in a big, king-sized bed?"

"Well, that will certainly come later," Brian told him, smiling. "But that's not the surprise I have in mind right now; besides, even though you're still as hot as ever, Sunshine, your body is not that big of a surprise by now," he pointed out. "Not it doesn't make me horny as hell," he added hastily. "Fuck…. you know what I mean…"

Brian was afraid Justin would take that the wrong way, but to the brunet's relief, he smiled back at him in amusement rather than resentment; he was so thrilled about the entire day that Brian had planned for him so far, he couldn't wait to see what else he had in mind. "I'm even hotter," he bragged as Brian chuckled. "So what's next?"

Brian grinned as he reached inside his pants pocket and brought out his cell phone; flipping it open, he let it ring for a few seconds before he spoke to the person on the other end. "Yeah, this is Brian Kinney. We're ready now," he advised cryptically before he hung up his phone and stared at his partner's look of puzzlement. "Patience, Sunshine….it won't be long now."

Brian turned Justin around in his arms and wrapped his limbs around the slender chest. He leaned in to whisper, "We're going to take another ride." He held Justin tightly in his arms. The blond didn't really mind not quite knowing what was going on, though – he felt wonderful at the moment, even though he had no clue what Brian was planning for them next. "Not even a hint?" he asked.

"So impatient," Brian chided him. "Let's just say it's the only way to get around during rush hour traffic," he said mysteriously as he nuzzled Justin against his face and planted one more kiss on the blond's cheek.

Justin huffed in frustration as he heard Brian chuckle. A few seconds later, however, he heard the staccato, beat-beat-beat of a helicopter's blades as the sound slowly got louder and louder until it appeared the chopper was directly over top of them. He watched, his mouth open, as a sleek-looking white helicopter appeared beyond a nearby grove of trees and hovered nearby before finally landed approximately fifty feet away.

Brian had to yell to make himself heard over the din. "Ready to go to dinner, Sunshine?" he shouted in Justin's ear as the blond turned around to stare at him, agape.

"We're going in that?" he asked incredulous, glancing over a little warily at the noisy contraption as he heart began to flutter rapidly, almost in synchronous rhythm with the helicopter's blades. He was at once nervous as hell but also extremely excited; he had never been inside a helicopter before, let alone flying in one over New York City.

"You bet your hot little ass," Brian shouted back, grinning as he released his hold on Justin and began to pull him toward the vehicle. "Duck your head and follow me," he instructed as the pilot, wearing aviator-style, reflector glasses climbed out of his side of the helicopter and walked over toward the rear to wait for his passengers.

The two men jogged over to the helicopter and followed the pilot to an open doorway, Justin grabbing onto a bar as he hoisted himself up; he rolled his eyes as Brian plastered his hands onto his ass to help him up, even though he was perfectly capable of getting inside by himself.

Brian smirked at his partner as he deftly pulled himself up to join Justin in the backseat. "Didn't want anything to happen to that cute little bubble butt of yours," the brunet explained as he pressed his body against his partner's, even though there was surprisingly more than enough room for both of them. Justin didn't mind, though; he rather liked it as he reached to take Brian's hand, both to calm his slightly frazzled nerves over his first time in a helicopter, and partly just to feel the warm fingers intertwined with his.

The dark-haired pilot leaped adroitly into the driver's seat and swung the Plexiglas door closed. "Mr. Kinney?" he spoke loudly as he turned around to address the two men. He looked at Brian as he nodded in acknowledgment. "You need to close your door back there and latch yourselves in; state law," he advised politely as Brian nodded once more. He reached over to grab the door handle and used it to close the passenger-side panel as Justin said to the pilot, "No problem – I'd rather not fall out if you don't mind."

The pilot laughed as he verified they were buckled in. "Don't worry – I haven't lost a passenger, at least not yet," he added with a wink before he turned around and the helicopter's motor revved up in preparation to lift off the ground.

"That didn't exactly fill me with confidence," Justin muttered as Brian grinned at him. "At least the doors are closed," he acknowledged, relieved that they weren't going to be riding in one of those open-door models. "Where are we going?" he asked Brian curiously.

Justin squeezed Brian's hand in a death grip as the helicopter rose from the ground and, tilting toward the grassy area below, it made a sharp bank before straightening out and proceeding to fly away from terra firma, apparently toward their secret destination.

"We're going to take a tour of the Big Apple before we go eat at the top of the world," Brian told him mysteriously in a lower voice as he leaned in toward his partner; now that the doors were closed, the helicopter was still noisy but quiet enough that he could at least speak in a more conversational tone. "And then we're going on a trip to fucking heaven."

As Justin smiled at his partner's choice of words, he realized it didn't matter where they were going anyway – right now, sitting next to man he loved while he held his hand firmly in his, he knew he was already in heaven.


	5. He's Staying!  Conclusion

"Jack should have warned me to take a hairbrush to the park," Justin joked as he attempted to smooth his hair down after their flight. They had just disembarked from their helicopter ride which had offered a spectacular view of downtown Manhattan and the New York skyline and were standing on the roof of one of the taller skyscrapers near Central Park where the chopper had landed; with a wave, the helicopter pilot had immediately lifted off from the rooftop helipad and zoomed off, leaving them alone on the rooftop.

A sudden thought occurred to Justin as he turned to face his partner. "Speaking of Jack…..the next time I return to his gallery, remind me to have a little chat with him about setting people up."

Brian grinned as he wetted his fingers and reached over to try and brush the blond's wind-blown, wayward hair down with his long hands. "He can't help if it you're so predictable; just give you a bench to sit and sketch on and a good burger place and the rest is easy."

"Huh," Justin huffed. "That makes me sound like some old, comfortable slipper."  
>"Well, you are a year older now – you're downright ancient."<p>

He snorted. "Well, if I'm ancient, you know what category that puts YOU in." He yelped as Brian smacked him hard on the ass. "Fuck!"

Brian smirked as he whispered in his ear, "I've told you before what happens when you get impertinent."

Justin grinned, completely unconcerned because he knew exactly what that meant – a little rough sex suited him just fine at the moment. "I'll be looking forward to it," he said, his eyes sparkling just like that night in Brian's office when they had been reunited. That had led to the same type encounter, and his ass had felt it for the entire week…and it had been hot as fucking hell.

"Where exactly are we, anyway? I've never been to a building in Manhattan with its own helipad before."

"We're at our next destination, Mr. Taylor," Brian told him simply, curling his lips under mischievously.

Justin rolled his eyes. "Well, duh," he deadpanned. "Just what exactly IS this place?" He looked around the concrete pad; the center had a large, yellow circle on it for landings, no doubt, but around the perimeter a group of large shade trees had been planted in enormous, terra cotta pots and there were several redwood benches in between them. Near one corner was a trellised-type gazebo with wisteria growing over top it for even more shade. Underneath there was an all-weather leather-like sofa, a small glass-and-metal oval coffee table and even what appeared to be a small bar nearby.

Brian placed his hand lightly on the small of Justin's back to lead him toward the door leading into the rest of the building. "Come with me and I'll show you," he whispered mysteriously, curling his arm around Justin's waist protectively.

Justin sighed in exasperation – something told him that was all he was going to get out Brian for now; truth be told, though, he actually didn't care where they were going as long as Brian was with him, but he was extremely curious just the same. So far it had been a spectacular birthday, one he would never forget. It made up, in fact, for some of Brian's other attempts at 'celebrating' his birthday; this was far better than any hustler could ever be. Some time ago, he recalled telling Michael that Brian would never 'mellow.' As he watched his partner reach over to open the door, though, the thought crossed his mind that perhaps he had been hasty in that assessment…..

The brunet swept his hand out ahead of himself as he said, "After you, birthday boy," barely able to keep the wide grin from appearing on his face. He wanted desperately not to give too much away just yet – he wanted to see Justin's reaction when he realized what was going on. He had spent the past several months in conjunction with several people making sure this particular surprise became a reality in time for Justin's birthday. It had been close – the project had only been completed yesterday, in fact – but he had done a run through of the place late last night and it was finally the way he wanted it.

As the two men emerged at the bottom of a small group of wooden steps, another tall, metal door greeted them; tiny recessed lights built into either side of the windowless stairway provided just enough light to be able to see the handle that apparently had to be swung to the side in order to open it. Justin turned around to face his partner in the fairly small passageway as his brows narrowed in suspicion. "Brian….you're not taking me to some BDSM party, are you?" He sighed – surely that wasn't Brian's next big 'surprise,' or Brian was going to be the surprised one, because he had no intention of spending his evening in some threesome – or worse. If he was going to be spanked, he preferred it be his partner, not some beefy, brawny, strong-man circus reject.

Brian laughed. "No, not tonight, Sunshine…..I want you all to myself. Go on…..open the door." He could barely contain his excitement at the opportunity to show Justin what he had been doing for the past few months.

Justin breathed a sigh of relief as he nodded and reached to pull the recessed handle of the somewhat beat-up door, wondering what in the world Brian was up to now. He knew from past experience – and even today – that you could never anticipate what he would do. After all, not everyone would buy a mansion for someone, even though eventually they had decided to rent it out to some hotshot business executive shortly after they had called off the wedding; it had actually proven to be a smart move for Brian, because the man had fallen in love with the house and had eventually purchased it for even more then Brian's initial purchase price. Still, in a way, Justin felt wistful about the whole thing, silently hoping that one day they could have actually lived in it together. He supposed, though, that from a career and practical standpoint, it wasn't the best location in which to cohabitate, although he would have chosen anywhere to cohabitate, as long as it was with Brian. But deep down, he realized that if he was ever to get his art career off the ground, Lindsey had been right – he needed to live right where he was: New York. That didn't mean he didn't miss Brian like crazy, though.

He had a little difficulty opening the door due to its weight – it must have been made of solid steel – but eventually he opened it enough for him and Brian to squeeze through. As he turned sideways to scoot inside, he turned around and gasped; he didn't really know what to expect on the inside, but it certainly hadn't been this. The seemingly old, industrial, multi-level brick building on the outside had been totally transformed into a sleek, modern office complex on the inside; it was unlike anything Justin had ever seen before – the walls were bright white and curved everywhere, sweeping the eye all around the perimeter. The ceilings were almost impossibly high; evidently the entire interior had been gutted and reshaped in the owner's image and it was exactly how he would have envisioned the perfect office space. His eyes shone with wonder as he craned his neck skyward to take it all in – it was absolutely the most gorgeous space he had ever seen; the angles and curves were almost poetic in nature to the artist's heart inside him. He finally turned to look at Brian in incredulity, his eyes shining like a kid in a candy store.

Brian smiled, realizing he had hit the mark; he hadn't become the best advertising genius in Pittsburgh for nothing. As he gazed into his partner's eyes, he really didn't have to ask, but he did. "What do you think of it?" he asked softly.

Justin huffed out a sound that was kind of like he was asking him a ridiculous question. "What….what do I think of it?" he asked breathlessly. "My God, Brian," he whispered almost reverently. "This is absolutely amazing. It's the most breathtaking thing I've ever seen…after you, of course," he added with a smile as his eyes came to focus on his amused partner. "I thought maybe you were taking me to some restaurant or something. What is this place?" The room they were in was completely empty, making the space appear even more enormous than it was.  
>Brian reached over to take Justin's hand and caress it softly. Justin's heartbeat began to speed up – Brian was giving him the same, almost shy look he had given him once before. Before when he had…..<p>

"You might say it's our own private, permanent white party," he said huskily, curling his lips under briefly before he added, "Want to see the rest of it?"

Justin's mouth gaped open. Was Brian saying what he thought he was saying? "Brian…..is this? Do you mean…..?" He found that he couldn't quite form a coherent thought at the moment; he was barely able to breathe as it was.

Brian simply grinned at his inability to speak. "Now that's a new twist," he teased. "Normally I can't get you to shut up…unless you have your mouth full of my dick." He pulled on Justin's hand. "Come on…..let me show you the rest of it. You're not going to believe it," he said, barely able to contain his excitement at the thought of showing it to his lover. He knew – or at least he hoped he knew – that Justin was going to fall in love with it.

They walked up a short group of steps to a different part of the building that opened into a different space; unlike the curved walls of the previous level, this one had a more angular shape. It was huge, though, and open from one end of the floor to the other; another bank of windows faced out over the Manhattan skyline below. This space, also, unlike the first one, was furnished; from the looks of the sleek, modern furniture, this was the living quarters. The designer furniture was ultra-modern and plush; a thick area rug lay on the floor nearby, evoking instant thoughts in Justin's mind of him and Brian making mad, passionate love on it. The cleanness of the lines in the room, along with the occasional splashes of color, was beautiful. His eyes caught sight of several charcoal sketches hung in between the rows of windows and he gasped, recognizing it as his own candid portraits of strangers he had encountered at the parks and his friend and gallery owner, Jack Montgomery, had displayed a few weeks ago. All four sketches had been purchased by the same patron, Jack had told him, but he hadn't given him any more information other than they had sold for a quite handsome price.

Justin just stood there in shock as he turned to look at Brian. "Those are my sketches," he exclaimed as he stared at Brian for an answer.

"I know," he told him, tongue burrowed in his cheek. "One of your avid admirers, no doubt."

Justin shook his head, knowing full well now exactly who had purchased the works; he was still too stunned at the moment, however, to properly verbalize his feelings.  
>Brian grinned, fully expecting that sort of reaction and actually thrilled by it. His plan so far was working perfectly. Still holding onto Justin's soft, warm hand, he could feel it trembling slightly as he said, "Let me show you some other parts," and gently tugged on his hand to urge him forward. Justin took one last look at this latest space before turning to follow Brian down the long, open living space into the back of the loft. He looked at Brian, puzzled, as they came to what appeared to be an office and there in the middle of the floor, sitting as big as he pleased, was a…dog. A real dog, complete with a matching, white dog bed. Justin turned to look at Brian for an explanation as he noticed the brunet rolling his eyes in exasperation.<p>

"Beau! How many times do I have to tell you that's not your room?" He shook his head and sighed in aggravation. "What are you doing here, anyway?" he gently scolded the bulldog, who merely glanced over at him as if he were a piece of lint and not worthy of his time. "Where's your master?"

He looked over at Justin sheepishly as the dog stood exactly where Brian had found him; apparently he also knew that Brian's bark was worse than his bite. "Beauregard belongs to the construction foreman," he explained as Justin laughed at the aristocratic name. "He thinks he lives here, though. Dean told me the dog whines like crazy if he's left alone and the neighbors complain about it, so I agreed to let him bring him here when he's working. But I thought he was done yesterday."

As if on cue, Justin heard a scuffling noise from the opposite side of the hall and shortly thereafter, a tall, lanky, dark-haired man who appeared to be in his early thirties rushed up to them with an apologetic look on his face. "Hi, Mr. Kinney," the man said. "I'm sorry…..I was just finishing up some painting in the ar…..uh, the unfinished space downstairs," he said, hastily amending his statement at the look of warning on Brian's face; he had almost let the cat out of the bag. He glanced over at Beau, whose ears perked up. "I hope you don't mind if I brought Beau along. You know how he is."

"Uh….no, I guess not," he told him, concerned more about Justin's 'surprise' than the stodgy canine staring back at him nonplussed. He glanced over at Justin, who was silently taking the conversation in. He could hear the thought wheels turning furiously in his head and was preparing for the peppering of questions that no doubt was about to erupt. That was okay, though – he was anxious to find out just what Justin's response to all this would be. Justin had always bristled at the thought of Brian taking care of him; he only hoped when he got done that he would understand it wasn't the same this time.

"Did you finish up?" he asked the other man, who nodded.

"Yes….all done," he assured him. "Just don't touch the walls downstairs for a while until it's completely dry – about a couple of hours or so." He looked over at the beautiful-looking blond, knowing instantly who he was. "You must be Justin," he said, extending his hand. "I'm Dean Shelton, Brian's foreman."  
>Justin still had no idea exactly what was going on, but he accepted the man's hand politely and said, "Nice to meet you."<p>

Dean nodded at him and Brian. "Well, I'll get going now. If you see anything that needs corrected or added to, let me know." He walked over to the stout-looking dog, bending down to scratch behind his ears as Beau finally rose from his spot and wagged his tail, knowing it was time to go finally. "Let's go, Buddy," he said, picking up his dog bed. He waved at the two men. "Talk to you later," he said, adding to Brian, "Good Luck," with a smile and a wink before he walked away, the dog trotting obediently behind him.

Justin shook his head – the whole thing was so surreal – first Brian coordinates a flash mob by bringing in friends and family, not to mention total strangers, to celebrate his birthday, then he takes him on a carriage and helicopter ride around the park and the city, and now they're walking around this enormous, open living space that apparently Brian had remodeled and, perhaps most amazingly of all, he allowed a dog to stay there, at least temporarily? He looked around the room, wondering if the world was about to come to an end, before he looked back at Brian with his hands on his hips.

"Okay, Brian….what in the fuck is going on here? You've been hem-hawing all day long about something. You obviously had this building remodeled into a loft apartment and office space, and my sketches are even here." He took a deep breath before asking his partner the all-important question that he hoped he would receive the right answer to. "Are you trying in your typical grandiose way to tell me that you're moving Kinnetik here? That…" dare he say it? "that you're moving here?" He held his breath as he waited for Brian to reply.

Brian smiled mysteriously, actually enjoying their little game. "I'll tell you…..in just a minute." Justin groaned at the non-answer as Brian grinned, again taking his hand. "I've got one more thing to show you first. Come on." Again, he tugged Justin along like some overzealous tourist guide as he urged him down the hallway toward yet another row of steps, leading down this time to yet another floor. There were so many twists and turns to this building that Justin thought he'd need a map to navigate it as they walked the few steps down a fairly wide walkway to arrive at an open archway. As they turned slightly to walk through the entrance, Justin stopped in his tracks. This area was much more grittier than the living quarters – the exterior brick was still exposed, as was the original, metal ductwork overhead, but it was the row of windows with the light streaming in that immediately caught his eye. The space was narrower than the rest of the loft, but it was still quite spacious and had cement floors – perfect for spilling occasional blotches of paint without having to worry about damaging some expensive marble tile or hardwood below.

He dropped Brian's hand to walk over to the row of windows, gazing out onto the incredible view of Manhattan below; all sorts of ideas for future paintings popped into his head as he looked at the wondrous angles, curves, and architecture that was pure New York City. His eyes filled with tears, because without Brian saying a word, he knew exactly what was going on now; there could be no doubt.  
>Brian walked up behind him to slide his arms around his slender waist and lay his chin on his shoulder. "Have I answered your questions now?" he whispered softly.<br>Brian's voice vibrated against Justin's skin as the blond turned in his embrace to look into his eyes, his own glistening with tears of happiness as he asked, "You mean…..?"

Brian smiled as he nodded. "Yes," he breathed out as Justin's heart exploded from sheer joy. "Yes," he repeated firmly, taking his hands and placing them on either side of Justin's face, his thumbs caressing the soft, warm cheeks now stained with tears; Justin slid his hands up to rest against Brian's chest, feeling his heart beating strongly beneath his touch. "I'm opening up my first satellite office right here in Manhattan," he told him. "And this ridiculously monstrous loft upstairs is mine – or should I say ours. And this," he added, twisting his head to look around the sun-drenched space, "is your own personal artist loft. That is…..if you want it to be." He gazed a little uncertainly into the beautiful blue eyes; it was amazing that despite the typical, self-assured demeanor he always showed to others, when he was with Justin his heart always felt like it was vulnerable and bare to exposure, even though if there was one thing he could always count on, it was this man's love. He knew Justin loved him just as deeply as he loved him, but he still waited anxiously for him to reply.

"Brian," Justin whispered, gazing at him tenderly. "This place…..this place is incredible, it's perfect, it's everything I could ever want in a studio and a place to live. And having you living here with me…."

Brian knew there was another word in that sentence. "But…" he prodded softly.  
>Justin sighed. "But this place has to have cost a fortune, Brian," he murmured. "I can't let you…."<p>

"Pay for all of it…I know," Brian finished for him. "And I won't," he reassured him. "Look…you've already paid me back every penny you ever borrowed from me and then some. So we're starting out fresh here; you're making damn good money now, Justin, enough to help me pay for expenses. It'll take me a little while to get completely up and running here in New York, but I've already got several client leads for possible new business from my current client base and it looks very promising. I've got enough bankrolled from the Pittsburgh office to help me weather the financial storm long enough to keep the business going until it can stand independently here on its own. The mortgage on the building includes both the loft AND Kinnetik, so I can use a tax shelter to help soften the financial blow." He silently pleaded with Justin to accept his offer, knowing he no longer wanted to go on being separated from the man he loved so deeply. "We'll draw up an agreement for you to pay a reasonable amount of rent for the artist space, if that's what you want," he added. His voice lowered to a more husky timbre as he teased, "But I'd prefer to just take it out of your ass instead." He dropped his hands to place them lightly along the pale skin of Justin's neck, feeling his pulse beating rapidly underneath his fingers. The time when he world work at seeming appear nonchalant and neutral over an important decision had long passed for him; he wanted this badly – and he wanted Justin by his side. Without him, it wouldn't be the same. "What do you say, Sunshine? It would be extremely rude to turn down a birthday present, you know." Please, Justin…

Justin licked his lips thoughtfully, his independent streak warring with his strong desire to be with Brian. He was right – this would be so perfect, so fucking wonderful, to live here in this wonderful space with him, to create new works of art with his inspiration by his side, and to explore ever wondrous crevice and corner of the Big Apple with him. They could have such an incredible life here together, and Brian was willing to put it all in writing if that's what it took to get him to agree. So what was he struggling about? Was he somehow afraid that this was all a dream, that somehow he would wake up soon and find out he had imagined all this?  
>As Brian leaned down to kiss his lips, though, and he felt the familiar warmth and taste of them, his heart lurched in exhilaration, because this was no dream – it was all marvelously real. Brian leaned back to stare into his face, the love so evident in his smile and in his eyes.<p>

Justin gazed up at him tenderly, his heart providing him with the only answer he could give him. "How soon can you move here?" he whispered.  
>Brian's lips turned up into a smile of his own, a smile of joy and relief. "Is yesterday too soon?"<p>

Justin's eyes widened; did he mean….? "Are…..are you saying you've already moved here?" he asked, incredulous as he felt Brian playing with the hair at the back of his neck.

"Well, I didn't move any of the furniture in the loft – I rented it out turnkey. I thought for our new place we should have new furniture, too. And you'll have to decide how you want to furnish your studio – I thought I'd leave that up to you. And it'll take a few weeks to get all the wiring put in for Kinnetik's security system, computers, and phone system. But I've got enough employees, including Cynthia, moving here in the next couple of weeks to get the new office up and running within the month. In the meantime, it's only an hour's flight to Pittsburgh, so I'll be shuttling back and forth for a few weeks until everything's in place here." He smiled at Justin's look of astonishment. "You think you can handle having me underfoot until then?"

Justin stared back at him, his mouth agape slightly as he tried to digest all the planning Brian had already done to make his most fervent wish a reality. "I think I can manage that," he finally managed to say as Brian grinned. He added," You can move in with me until you get some bedroom furniture." He wanted nothing more perfect than for Brian to share his bed, although he figured Brian would probably much prefer to stay in some five-star hotel rather than his somewhat austere apartment.

Brian looked at him as if he had cut off his head. "I don't think so, Sunshine," he huffed. "I've seen the lumpy mattress you call a bed." He pulled back once more to take his partner's hand. "I thought you knew me better than that by now," he scolded him gently. "Come on….I left the best for last."

Justin shook his head in comprehension. "I should have known," he admitted wryly as Brian began to tug him toward the stairs. Ascending back up to the next floor, they turned in the opposite direction this time. There in a nearby open doorway was a modern-looking, luxuriously-appointed bedroom with a huge, white king-sized bed dominating the center of the room. It's very…..big," he whispered facetiously, sweeping his gaze around the room to drink it in before turning to look at Brian's smiling face; he looked so pleased and just a little smug. "Just like something else I know and love, Mr. Kinney," he said, reaching down to give Brian's cock an affectionate squeeze.

Brian groaned slightly at the familiar touch, his body tingling with yearning. "I can't wait to christen our new bed the proper way by fucking your brains out," he admitted, his voice heavy with lust and desire. "I've got red sheets under that white duvet," he whispered in Justin's ear. "You're going to look so hot on top of them." Just the thought of Justin's creamy-colored skin lying in stark contrast to the blood-red shade of the sateen sheets made his cock twitch in anticipation. He had wanted to get Justin alone ever since he had first seen him earlier today; now that they were finally afforded that privacy, he couldn't wait to fuck him senseless until dawn and really give their new king-sized bed a real, Brian-and-Justin workout as only they could do….

Justin shivered at the velvety, sexy tone in Brian's voice. He slid his hands up to link behind Brian's neck as they came together for a deep kiss, only pausing briefly after several seconds to take in a couple of quick breaths before plunging back in again, both pairs of hands roaming all over each others' backs.

As they finally broke apart enough to look into each other's eyes, Justin smiled, a little breathless. He reached down to begin unbuttoning Brian's shirt but was puzzled when Brian placed one hand over his and gaze it a squeeze to stop him. "What?" he asked, just a little confused as well as disappointed. He wanted his partner so badly.

Brian planted another brief, sound kiss on his lips in reassurance before glancing over at the bedroom's floor-to-ceiling window to note the sky had blackened considerably now. "I've got one more surprise for you," he whispered almost shyly. "Come over to the balcony," he urged, taking his hand to walk with him toward the other end of the room.

Justin shook his head in amazed puzzlement; was there no end to the surprises today? Nothing could top the fact that Brian was going to be living here full-time, though – no, scratch that; THEY were going to be living here full-time. The thought made him almost giddy with excitement.

Brian led him over to a set of white, glass-paned double doors and swung them open; they led to a rectangular-sized balcony with a white railing around the perimeter. It wasn't that large – especially in light of everything else in the place being way over-the-top in size – but it was substantial enough for the all-weather combination daybed/bench that was situated by the back wall. A couple of potted live trees on either corner lent a little more warmth to the environment, along with the wooden-type, planked flooring underneath.

Justin's eyes lit up as he walked over to the railing and gazed out over the now twinkling lights below. It was like a wonderland of fireflies – all sparkling and winking in an uneven pattern. From their vantage point up so high, all the sounds of the bustling city were far away. It really was remarkable, he thought, in light of the millions of people that lived there. He could still feel the energy and vibrancy of the city below, though, and knew he would spend countless hours here with an easel and his painting supplies, creating all sorts of wonderful works of art from the inspiration below. As he felt Brian's arms wind around his chest, however, he knew there was one inspiration that would never be rivaled. "It's beautiful, Brian," he whispered as Brian nuzzled his cheek softly.

He could feel Brian's lips break out into a smile against him. "You're beautiful," he murmured sincerely, as Justin's heart soared with delight and love for this man. "That's still not the final surprise, though," he said to Justin's surprise as the blond twisted his head just enough to stare into Brian's face curiously.

"It's not?" He jumped in Brian's arms just then as a loud boom sounded nearby; he jerked his head around just in time to see a brilliant flash of yellow light up the sky and transform into a multi-pointed rose shape.

Brian chuckled. "THAT is," he said as more booms could be heard and several rockets of fireworks shot up into the sky, only to explode into more shapes and colors.

"Oh, my God," Justin whispered in awe as a procession of more pyrotechnics continued for several minutes, each one seemingly greater and more spectacular than the last; Brian could see a kaleidoscope of colors flashing across Justin's eyes as he cradled his partner in his arms and the colors burst into life in front of them. He smiled at the look of absolute wonder and joy on his partner's face as he continued to stare, spellbound, at the display he had arranged for him. Between the necessary permits, the labor costs, and the supplies, it had cost him a fucking fortune, but one look on Justin's face and he knew it had been worth it – HE was worth everything to him….

Finally, after approximately ten minutes, the last object shot up into the inky blackness and broke out into a staccato of digressing points, finally coalescing into the shape of a smiling sun that lit up the entire northern part of the sky, just like a certain blond's smile always lit up the room wherever he was, and also lit up Brian's heart.

As the last of the display slowly floated downward in the now-smoky sky, Justin's breathing slowly began to return to normal as he turned in Brian's arms to gaze into his loving eyes; only the soft lighting from the bedroom behind them illuminated the immediate area now as he shook his head in amazement. "I….I don't know what to say, Brian," he whispered. "You never cease to surprise me. I would have been happy with one of these surprises today. And just when I think you're done, you do something else even more fantastic than the last one." His lips twisted up into a tender pose as he added softly, "Although, nothing could top the fact that you and I are finally going to be together again – here in this incredible loft." He smiled. "I'd tell you to pinch me, but I think you might enjoy doing that just a little too much."

Brian grinned as his hands slowly reached down to lightly caress the cheeks of Justin's ass. "You're right," he growled huskily, as he gave both of Justin's ass cheeks a slight pinch and Justin jumped slightly in reaction. "You still deserve a good spanking, too, as I recall."

The tip of Justin's tongue darted out to slowly lick across his lips as Brian's eyes darkened in response. "Well, I guess I'll just have to take my punishment like a man, then," he whispered seriously, only his sparkling eyes giving away his true feelings.

Brian grinned. "I was hoping you would say that," he replied, his voice lowering an octave in anticipation. "I think we should get started with your corporal punishment right away, then, because I plan on taking all night long to administer your punishment."

Justin shivered in anxious anticipation; it had been all he could to keep his hands to himself all day long, and now he was horny as hell for his partner. Something told him he wasn't the only one with that problem, though; he could feel the evidence of Brian's desire for him loud and clear down below, lightly rubbing against his clothes.

He nodded solemnly. "Well, I'm prepared to take whatever you can dish out…..Mr. Kinney."

Brian curled his lips under, tongue in cheek. "That's my boy," he answered with a raspy voice. "And don't you ever forget it." Their mouths came together suddenly of one accord for the start of a lengthy, passionate kiss as they stood there on the balcony, the night sky now sparkling with thousands of stars as well as city lights glowing around them. Several minutes passed while only the sounds of their pleasure could be heard until finally, mainly for the purpose of replenishing some much-needed air, they broke apart, faces flushed and lips red and bruised from their passion.

Brian's hands came up to cup Justin's face as he smiled tenderly at the beautiful blond. "Happy Birthday, Sunshine," he whispered. "Come to bed with me," he almost demanded, his voice dripping with desire and lust.

As Justin nodded silently and followed Brian back into their new loft, he was almost in a daze from the day's events; his heart sang at the knowledge, though, that come tomorrow night he would hear that same request, whether verbal or not, and would hear it again and again for the rest of his life. He couldn't think of a better present than that.

* * *

><p><em>AN: That's the end - hope you enjoyed it! Thanks for reading.:)_


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